Bermuda travel authorization- required?

[Robinhill]

If you don't intend to get off in Bermuda- does Royal still require you to have this document.  I dont want to spend the $40 since i have no intention on getting off the ship

[BND]

Everyone has to do it regardless of whether they are getting off the ship or not.  You cannot board the ship without it.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I don’t imagine the fee is refundable if the ship has to change itineraries because of Fiona.  We  sail on October 16 and are waiting to see what Fiona does before we apply for the travel authorizations.

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I don’t imagine the fee is refundable if the ship has to change itineraries because of Fiona.  We  sail on October 16 and are waiting to see what Fiona does before we apply for the travel authorizations.

Non refundable.  The webpage makes that clear.  Though I have heard anecdotally that some people have successfully gotten refunds mostly because of Covid.

[joyandjerry]

1 hour ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I don’t imagine the fee is refundable if the ship has to change itineraries because of Fiona.  We  sail on October 16 and are waiting to see what Fiona does before we apply for the travel authorizations.

We sail 30 September. Already applied at the30 days out mark, but have not received it yet. Second time this year, really is a big hassle.

[molly361]

1 hour ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I don’t imagine the fee is refundable if the ship has to change itineraries because of Fiona.  We  sail on October 16 and are waiting to see what Fiona does before we apply for the travel authorizations.

I'm on that sailing.  I was supposed to go in May but got COVID.  Asked for a refund from them and never heard back after a few emails.  Disputed it with my cc and got a permanent credit.   I imagine Bermuda didn't both responding to the cc company.  

[Engineroom Snipe]

2 hours ago, BND said:

Everyone has to do it regardless of whether they are getting off the ship or not.  You cannot board the ship without it.

There are many threads created about one month ago which went into great detail about all the changes to Safe Sail requirements. The following frequently asked question confirms your answer in the first paragraph. This is on RCL's current website. I know things can change but for now, you said it in a nutshell. You cannot board an RC ship today with Bermuda on its itinerary without the  cruise travel authorization.

 

Are there any additional requirements to cruise to Bermuda? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

 

The Bermuda government official cruise visitor authorization:

 

Make reservations | Bookings powered by resQwest.com (www.gov.bm)

 

My wife and I are planning an RC Cruise to Bermuda next year and I check them weekly for changes.

[gfargo53]

my wife and I are on the oct.22 cruise from cape liberty I have to wait 2 more days to fill out the application and pay the 80 bucks just one less thing to worry about

[orville99]

2 hours ago, BND said:

Everyone has to do it regardless of whether they are getting off the ship or not.  You cannot board the ship without it.

On our August Bermuda cruise out of PC on Mariner, there were officials from the Bermuda government in the terminal processing people who had not yet applied for the required travel authorization. Check in staff at the counter would not allow anyone without the authorization to complete the check in process, and were directing those people to a separate area where the Bermuda officials were located. Bottom line is that no one without an approved authorization was allowed to board the ship.

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

I'm on that sailing.  I was supposed to go in May but got COVID.  Asked for a refund from them and never heard back after a few emails.  Disputed it with my cc and got a permanent credit.   I imagine Bermuda didn't both responding to the cc company.  

That is good to know, thank you.  Hoping Bermuda will escape any serious damage from Fiona, but worried.

[Rogueperson]

5 hours ago, orville99 said:

On our August Bermuda cruise out of PC on Mariner, there were officials from the Bermuda government in the terminal processing people who had not yet applied for the required travel authorization. Check in staff at the counter would not allow anyone without the authorization to complete the check in process, and were directing those people to a separate area where the Bermuda officials were located. Bottom line is that no one without an approved authorization was allowed to board the ship.

 

So you're saying that they were processing and approving authorizations at embarkation?  Interesting.

[orville99]

3 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

 

So you're saying that they were processing and approving authorizations at embarkation?  Interesting.

Yes, they were. Apparently there is a contingent of passengers who are too oblivious of the need to actually read the mass of emails from RCL telling them that they had to get the authorizations that the numbers are large enough to warrant sending officials to the embarkation ports. The gate agent also told us that there were people from the Bermuda government that would be on board for the cruise as well.

[mpdog42]

All this is just a shakedown!!!🤬

[joyandjerry]

3 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

 

So you're saying that they were processing and approving authorizations at embarkation?  Interesting.

Jerry and I sailed to Bermuda this May. The sailing after ours, one did not have to upload negative COVID results to get the TA, but for our sailing, one did. We were with a group of older folks on a bus to the port, and I had to tell the travel agent (her business was closed permanently due to COVID and she was retiring) about the requirements. She had to do it for a few dozen people and have them bring their test results to her. I was one of the few that could do it myself. Well, the day before we left, I was at my wits end b/c I did not have the TA, and Bermuda decided as long as one applied and uploaded the results, they would let you board and you would get final approval on the ship.

 

Reps from the Bermuda govt. were on the ship, so they had to be flown to Baltimore, as it left from there and Bermuda was the only port of call. I guess that's where our $40 went. Some of the pax waited in line for hours on the ship at a special meeting to find out they were already approved. Man, many angry pax! Some had phone bills in the hundreds trying to call the govt. prior to sailing.

 

I applied 30 days out from the cruise and got the TA today, 10 days from sailing. The stress of the testing is worse than the cost. Jerry and I are doing our first B2B leaving Baltimore 30 September to Bermuda (just got TA today), then 6 October to Canada/NE. Major stress about the COVID testing the end of the first leg. Just my luck I picked the two destinations that require testing! Sailed in March this year, ship 65% capacity, and in May ship 75%+ capacity. Got COVID on the latter, but didn't test positive until home a few days.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

32 minutes ago, joyandjerry said:

 

 

 Jerry and I are doing our first B2B leaving Baltimore 30 September to Bermuda (just got TA today), then 6 October to Canada/NE. Major stress about the COVID testing the end of the first leg. Just my luck I picked the two destinations that require testing!

You may be in for some luck.  While all is not yet finalized it appears Canada will change requirements September 30.

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, molly361 said:

I'm on that sailing.  I was supposed to go in May but got COVID.  Asked for a refund from them and never heard back after a few emails.  Disputed it with my cc and got a permanent credit.   I imagine Bermuda didn't both responding to the cc company.  

Isn't that kinda fraud. You agreed to pay them, non-refundable. Then your credit card bounces. 

[joyandjerry]

20 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

You may be in for some luck.  While all is not yet finalized it appears Canada will change requirements September 30.

Oh, that would be an fab! Where did you read that? I googled it and didn't see anything about cruise pax.

And Jerry loves dragons!

Edited September 21, 2022 by joyandjerry

[DragonOfTheSeas]

13 hours ago, joyandjerry said:

Oh, that would be an fab! Where did you read that? I googled it and didn't see anything about cruise pax.

And Jerry loves dragons!

There are a couple of threads here on Cruise Critic about this. There is a link in this thread to follow.